A FLAT KNITTING MACHINE FOR INSERTION OF AN ARTICLE

Abstract

 A flat knitting machine (2) is provided with an article insertion device (10) movable on a yarn feeding rail (8) and having a clamp portion (26, 38) configured to clamp an article (16, 61) and to release the article (16, 61) in order to insert the article (16, 61) into a knitted fabric. The clamp portion (26, 38) moves to avoid interference with other yarn feeders moving on the yarn feeding rails. Further, an article supply device (12, 60) supplies the article (16, 61) to the article insertion device (10).
The article insertion device (10) can insert the article (16, 61) at desired positions into the knitted fabric and can avoid interference with other yarn feeders. Further, the articles (16, 61) can be supplied to the article insertion device (10).

Description

Field of the Invention

[0001] The present invention relates to a flat knitting machine provided with an article insertion device for inserting articles into knitted fabrics.

Background Art

[0002] It will be convenient if a flat knitting machine can insert articles, such as an RFID yarn, a strip-like interlining, compressed cushion material and so on, into knitted fabrics. Patent Document 1 (US 7246,508B) describes an article insertion device for inserting articles into knitted fabrics. The article insertion device according to Patent Document 1 inserts collar stays (stays for collars); takes out one collar stay from a cartridge and pushes out the collar stay into knitted fabrics. However, the article insertion device according to Patent Document 1 can not move and can insert collar stays only at a fixed position.

Prior Art Document

Patent Document

[0003] Patent Document 1: US 7246, 508B

Summary of the Invention

Problem to be Solved

[0004] The inventors have considered making the article insertion device according to Patent Document 1 movable such that it can insert the article at desired positions, for example, by moving the device along one of yarn feeding rails. However, the article insertion device according to Patent Document 1 is large and bulky and have been found not suitable to be supported by the yarn feeding rails. Therefore, a dedicated rail becomes needed. In addition, according to Patent Document 1, collar stays are picked out from the cartridge, and, as a result, the flat knitting machine has to be halted while new stays are supplied to the cartridge. Thus, the flat knitting machine will become large, and knitting will become inefficient.

[0005] The object of the invention is to provide a flat knitting machine provided with an article insertion device configured to insert articles into desired positions in knitted fabrics and an article supply device configured to supply the articles to the article insertion device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A flat knitting machine according to the invention is configured to knit knitted fabrics by feeding a knitting yarn from a yarn feeder running on a yarn feeding rail to needles in the needle beds. The flat knitting machine according to the invention is characterized by:

an article insertion device comprising: a carrier movable on one of the yarn feeding rails or another rail parallel to the yarn feeding rails; and a clamp portion provided at a lower portion of the carrier and configured to clamp an article and to release the article in order to insert the article into a knitted fabric; and

an article supply device configured to supply the article to a position where the article insertion device can clamp the article. The article insertion device is configured to move to the position for clamping the article.

[0007] According to the invention, the article insertion device is moved, for example, on one of the yarn feeding rails and is provided with the clamp portion at a low position of the device. Therefore, articles can be inserted at desired positions into the knitting fabrics.

[0008] The inventors have sometimes experienced that the inserted articles have floated in the knitted fabrics and were not stably located at the inserted position. Therefore preferably, the article insertion device further comprises a push-down means for pushing down the article inserted into the knitted fabric to a stable position. For pushing down the articles, preferably, a mechanism is provided such that the clamp portion is lowered by the mechanism from the clamp position for clamping the article to a push-down position. In this case, the clamp portion is also used as the push-down means.

[0009] When the lengthwise direction of the articles is made parallel to the yarn feeding rails, the interference with other yarn feeders becomes rare, and the articles can accurately be inserted into the knitted fabric. Therefore preferably, the clamp portion clamps the article such that the lengthwise direction of the article is parallel to the yarn feeding rails.

[0010] Preferably, the article insertion device further comprises an elevation member, and the clamp portion is configured to close and clamp the article by lowering the elevation member and to release and insert the article into the knitted fabric by elevating the elevation member. The elevation member can clamp and release the articles by its elevation and lowering.

[0011] Further preferably, the clamp portion comprises: a pair of grip members, provided with an article clamp position at lower portions of the grip members; a pair of pins protruding from a position over the article clamp position. The carrier is further provided with a pair of cam grooves guiding the pair of pins and abutting with each other, and the gap between the pair of cam grooves is wide at an upper portion and narrow at a lower portion such that the lowering of the pins makes the gap between the grip members narrow to clamp the article, and such that the elevation of the pins makes the gap between the grip members wide to release the article. Then, the articles can be clamped and released simply and securely by the elevation and lowering of the grip members.

[0012] Most of the articles to be inserted are yarn-like or strip-like, for example, yarns with an RFID or cushion material. Yarn-like or strip-like articles are conveniently supplied from cones, bobbins, or reels. Therefore preferably, the article supply device comprises: a base movable beneath the needle beds; an elevation member supported by the base and rising and lowering; a clamp member and a cutter both supported by the elevation member. In addition, a feeding device of the article to the clamp member is further provided. In this configuration, the elevation member is raised, and the clamp member clamps an article and draws out the article by a predetermined length. Then, the article is clamped by the article insertion device and is cut by the cutter. As a result, yarn-like or strip-like articles are supplied to the article insertion device without being pre-cut to the desired length.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013] 

Fig. 1 is a front view of a flat knitting machine according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a front view of an article insertion device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 3 is an exploded view of the article insertion device according to the embodiment in a vertical plane.

Fig. 4 is a partial side view of an article insertion device according to a modification.

Fig. 5 is a view indicating an article supply device according to the embodiment.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a jig for inserting chip-like articles.

Features for Carrying out the Invention

[0014] The best embodiment for carrying out the invention will be described. Embodiment

[0015]  Figs. 1 to 6 indicate a flat knitting machine according to the embodiment and its modifications. In the following, conventional portions present in usual flat knitting machines are described in short, and an article insertion device 10 and an article supply device 12 are described in detail. A controller 3 controls the flat knitting machine 2, in particular, the article insertion device 10 via a carriage 6 and the article supply device 12. The flat knitting machine 2 is provided with, for example, a pair of front and rear needle beds 4, 4. A region in the needle beds provided with knitting needles is called the knitting region, and, in the knitting region, knitted fabrics 7 are knitted. Both the pair of needle beds 4, 4 knit the knitted fabric 7, and articles are inserted into the knitted fabric 7.

[0016] The article supply device 12 is provided at a position at one end of the needle beds 4, 4 along their lengthwise direction and between the needle beds 4, 4 and supplies the articles to the article insertion device 10. The article insertion device 10 and a yarn feeder not shown are carried and moved, for example, by the carriage 6 on one of yarn feeding rails 8 over the needle beds 4 or a dedicated rail parallel to the yarn feeding rails. However, the article insertion device 10 and the yarn feeder can be configured to run by themselves without the aid of the carriage or the like. At the uppermost position of the flat knitting machine, a top plate 9 is provided and supports cones of knitting yarns so that they are fed to yarn feeders. From the cone 14, the article 16, such as an RFID yarn provided with an RFID at a predetermined pitch or a strip-like cushion, is supplied to the article supply device 12 with the aid of a feeding device 15. In the embodiment, the article 16 is yarn-like and is provided with an element such as an RFID at a predetermined pitch. Examples of other elements include portions in the yarn-like article 16 where the thickness or the color changes. The article 16 is clamped such that the lengthwise direction of the article is parallel to the needle beds 4 and, therefore, the knitted fabric 7. This allows secure insertion of the article 16 into the knitted fabric 7 and prevents interference with other yarn feeders. When the article 16 has another shape such as a coin-like shape, the direction of the coin along the diameter is made parallel to the needle beds 4.

[0017] Figs. 2 and 3 indicate the article insertion device 10. The lowermost portions 27 of the article insertion device 10 are present within the gap between the pair of the needle beds 4, 4. There are three positions of: clamp position A indicated by a solid line for clamping the article 16; release position B indicated by a chain line for releasing the article 16 after downward movement; and push-down position C indicated by a chain line for pushing down the article 16 into the knitted fabric. By the way, at the release position B, the lowermost portions 27 are elevated above the needle beds 4, and, therefore, the interference with other yarn feeders are avoided.

[0018] Indicated by 20 is a carrier and moves on the yarn feeding rail 8 by rollers 21. The carrier 20 is provided with an elevation rod 22. A follower 23 at the uppermost portion of the rod 22 is moved downward by being pushed by a cam 30 of the carriage such that the lowermost portions 27 are lowered to the clamp position A. The carriage is further provided with a solenoid 31, for example, and is configured to further lower the cam 30 to a lower position 32 indicated by a chain line. Then, the lowermost portions 27 are further lowered to the push-down position C. According to the embodiment, the cam 30 carries the article insertion device 10 and controls the lowering of the lowermost portions 27 to the clamp position A and the further lowering to the push-down position C, while they may be controlled by separate cams. A biasing member 25 energizes the elevation rod 22 vertically upward, and therefore, when the operation by the cam 30 is absent, the follower 23 rises to an elevated position 24 indicated by a chain line.

[0019] A pair of clamp portions 26, 26, each having a grip member 26a, is attached at an axial member 36 at the lowermost portion of the elevation rod 22 and is configured to rock around the axial member 36. Further, a pair of left and right pins 28, 28 are provided at the lower portions of the grip members 26a, 26a, but above the lowermost portions 27, 27. In addition, for example, grooves 34, 34 are provided just above the lowermost portions 27, 27 of the grip members 26a, 26a and are configured to hold the article 16. Without the grooves 34, 34, the article 16 can be held on the mutual contact planes of the grip members 26a, 26a. In the specification, "left and right" indicates a direction parallel to the lengthwise direction of the needle beds 4, 4.

[0020] A pair of left and right cams 29, 29 are provided at the lower portion of the carrier 20, each cam 29 is provided with a pair of front and rear cam grooves 35, 35, and the distance between the cam grooves 35, 35 along the left and right direction is wider at their upper portion and narrower at their lower portion along the vertical direction. In the specification, "front and rear" indicates a direction connecting the front side and the rear side of the flat knitting machine 2. Fig. 3 indicates the grip members 26a, 26a at the clamp position A, the elevation rod 22 is lowered by being pressed by the cam 30 of the carriage, and the pins 28 are at the lower portions of the cam grooves 35 abutting each other with the narrower distance. As a result, the grip members 26a, 26a are mutually in contact and hold the article 16 within the grooves 34.

[0021] When the elevation rod 22 rises from the position in Fig. 3, the pins 28 are guided by the cam grooves 35, and the grip members 26a, 26a rock so as to increase the mutual distance and release the article 16 at the release position B. The released article 16 falls into the knitted fabric.

[0022] The solenoid 31 shown in Fig. 2 or the like lowers the lowermost portions 27 of the grip members 26a to the push-down position C from the position in Fig. 3. During this movement, the distance between the cam grooves 35, 35 is kept narrow, and the grip members 26a, 26a do not open. By this lowering, the lowermost portions 27 push the article 16 down in the knitted fabric to a stable position.

[0023] When the grip members 26a, 26a are raised to the release position B, the lowermost portions 27 of the grip members 26a are retracted from the uppermost portion of the gap between the needle beds 4 (the trick gap). Then, the grip members 26a no longer interfere with other yarn feeders feeding yarns or needles in the needle beds advancing and retracting to manipulate the knitting yarns. By the way, when the grip members 26a are not retracted from the trick gap, the carriage is required to carry away the article insertion device 10 from the knitting region. In contrast to this, when the carriage releases the article insertion device 10, the elevation rod 22 rises, and the grip members 26a are retracted, according to the embodiment.

[0024] The article insertion device 10 can be configured to run by itself without being carried by the carriage. Further, instead of the manipulation of the article insertion device 10 by the carriage, the article insertion device 10 is provided with an electric power supply and a controller so that the article insertion device works autonomously. Further, the article 16 can be pushed down by airflow from a pipe of compressed air. Further, a mechanism for pushing down the article can be provided separately from the grip members 26a. The grip members 26a can be configured to rock along the front and rear direction to retract instead of elevating and retracting.

[0025] Fig. 4 indicates a clamp portion 38 used in an article insertion device according to a modification. A fixed member 39 is fixed to a carrier in the article insertion device, similar to that in Figs. 2 and 3, and is provided with a projection 40 at the lowermost portion to support the bottom of the article 16. The upper surface of the projection 40 is inclined such that the article 16 falls from the upper surface. An elevation member 41 is connected to, for example, the lowermost portion of the elevation rod 22 in Figs. 2 and 3 and is provided with a closing member 42 at the lowermost portion. When the elevation rod 22 lowers, the article 16 is prohibited from falling away from the projection 40, and when the elevation rod 22 rises, the article 16 is allowed to fall. Preferably, the fixed member is configured to rock along the front and rear direction of the knitting machine while the closing member 42 is raised so that the article 16 is positioned on the inclined upper surface of the projection 40.

[0026] Fig. 5 indicates the article supply device 12. According to the embodiment, the feeding device 15 comprises a pair of driving rollers. However, the article 16 may be fed from a side tension device or the like. The article supply device 12 is provided at a position beneath the one end of the needle beds 4 and out of the knitting region. Indicated by 44 is a motor, by 45 is a threaded rod, by 46 is a bearing, and they move a base 48 horizontally. The base 48 supports an elevation member 50, and a similar screw mechanism is provided for elevating and lowering the elevation member 50.

[0027] The elevation member 50 is provided with a clamp member 51 at the feeding side and a cutter 52 at the knitting region side. When the elevation member 50 is raised, the article insertion device 10 can grip the article 16 clamped by the clamp member 51, and when the elevation member 50 is lowered, the article insertion device 10 does not interfere with the clamp member 51 or the cutter 52. Both the clamp member 51 and the cutter 52 comprise a pair of members that open and close along the front and rear direction in the specification. The clamp member 51 clamps the article 16 by closing the pair of members, and the cutter 52 cuts the article by closing the pair of members. A sensor 54 detects an RFID 17, and so on, set in the article 16. The species of the sensor 54 is determined by the species of elements to be detected.

[0028]  The operation of the article supply device 12 will be described. First, the clamp member 51 clamps one end of the article 16, and the elevation member 50 is at the elevated position. The base 48 moves and draws the article 16 out and further draws out the article 16 by a predetermined distance after the sensor 54 has detected an RFID 17 (Step 1). According to the embodiment, the feeding device 15 feeds the article 16 to support the clamp member 51 drawing out the article 16.

[0029] Next, the article insertion device 10 moves to a predetermined position and clamps the article 16 with a predetermined distance from the RFID 17 (Step 2). When the article insertion device 10, and the clamp member 51 and the cutter 52 cross mutually, the grip members in the article insertion device 10 are raised or the elevation member 50 is lowered to prevent their interference. When the article insertion device 10 clamps the article 16, the clamp member 51 opens to release the article 16.

[0030] Then, the base 48 moves towards the feeding device 15 by a predetermined distance relative to the RFID 17 of the article 16 clamped by the article insertion device 10, the elevation member 50 rises, and the clamp member 51 clamps the article 16. Then, the cutter 52 cuts the article 16 (Step 3). By these steps, the article 16 to be inserted and having a predetermined length is clamped by the article insertion device.

[0031] When the pitch of RFIDs 17 is longer than the length of the article 16 to be inserted, the article insertion device is returned, after inserting the article 16 into a knitted fabric, clamps the tip end of the article 16, and draws out continuously the article 16. When the sensor 54 detects an RFID 17, the article supply device 12 moves to a predetermined position, for example, near from the tip end of the antenna of the RFID 17 and clamps and cuts the article 16. Then, the article insertion device 10 releases the article, and a suction device at the end of needle beds (not shown) suctions the unneeded portion to dispose of it. Then, Steps 1 to 3 are executed.

[0032] Yarn-like and strip-like articles can be drawn out by the article supply device 12 from the cone 14 and be clamped by the article insertion device 10 as above. Firm articles 61 having a fixed shape such as coin-like articles can be supplied by, for example, a jig 60 in Fig. 6 to the article insertion device 10. The mechanism in Fig. 6 is one example of article supply devices.

[0033] The articles 61 are set on the jig 60 at an interval, and the jig 60 advances and retracts along the arrowed direction in the drawing (the direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the needle beds in a horizontal plane). The grip members 26a, 26a of the article insertion device lower and clamp the article 61. The following manipulations are the same as the manipulations of the article 16. The article insertion device is moved to a desired position. The grip members 26a, 26a are made open to insert the article 16, then closed, and further lowered to push down the article 16 into the knitted fabric. Another article supply device than the jig 60 can comprise: for example, a box accommodating a number of the articles 61 at one end of the needle beds along their lengthwise direction; and a conveyor advancing and retracting along the alongside direction of the needle beds (the front and rear direction of the knitting machine). The articles are supplied automatically on the conveyor at a predetermined pitch from the box.

List of Symbols

[0034] 

2

flat knitting machine

3

controller

4

needle bed

5

knitting region

6

carriage

7

knitted fabric

8

yarn feeding rail

9

top plate

10

article insertion device

12

article supply device

14

cone

15

feeding device

16

article

17

RFID

20

carrier

21

roller

22

elevation rod

23

follower

25

biasing member

26

clamp portion

26a

grip member

27

lowermost portion

28

pin

29

cam

30

cam

31

solenoid

32

lowered position

34

groove

36

axial member

35

cam groove

38

clamp portion

39

fixed member

40

projection

41

elevation member

42

closing member

44

motor

45

threaded rod

48

base

50

elevation member

51

clamp member

52

cutter

54

sensor

60

jig

61

article

Claims

1. A flat knitting machine (2) configured to knit knitted fabrics by feeding a knitting yarn from a yarn feeder running on a yarn feeding rail (8) to needles in the needle beds (4), being characterized by:

an article insertion device (10) comprising: a carrier (20) movable on one of said yarn feeding rails (8) or another rail parallel to the yarn feeding rails (8); and a clamp portion (26, 38) provided at a lower portion of the carrier (20) and configured to clamp an article (16, 61) and to release the article (16, 61) in order to insert the article (16, 61) into a knitted fabric; and

an article supply device (12, 60) configured to supply the article (16, 61) to a position where the article insertion device (10) can clamp the article (16, 61),

wherein the article insertion device (10) is configured to move to said position for clamping the article (16, 61).

2. The flat knitting machine (10) according to claim 1, being characterized in that the article insertion device (10) further comprises a push-down means (26, 38) for pushing down the article (16, 61) inserted into the knitted fabric.

3. The flat knitting machine (10) according to claim 1 or 2, being characterized in that said clamp portion (26, 38) clamps the article (16, 61) such that the lengthwise direction of the article (16, 61) is parallel to the yarn feeding rails.

4. The flat knitting machine (10) according to one of claims 1 to 3, being characterized in that said article insertion device (10) further comprises an elevation member (22, 41) and that said clamp portion (26, 38) is configured to close and clamp the article (16, 61) by lowering said elevation member (22, 41) and to release and insert the article (16, 61)into the knitted fabric by elevating said elevation member (22, 41).

5. The flat knitting machine (10) according to claim 4, being characterized in that said clamp portion (26) comprises: a pair of grip members (26a, 26a), provided with an article clamp position (27) at lower portions of the grip members (26a, 26a); a pair of pins (28, 28) protruding from a position over said article clamp position (27),
that said carrier (20) is provided with a pair of cam grooves (35, 35) guiding the pair of pins (28, 28) and abutting with each other, and
that the gap between the pair of cam grooves (35, 35) is wide at an upper portion and narrow at a lower portion such that the lowering of the pins (28, 28) makes the gap between the grip members (26a, 26a) narrow to clamp the article (16, 61) and such that the elevation of the pins (28, 28) makes the gap between the grip members (26a, 26a) wide to release the article (16, 61).

6. The flat knitting machine (10) according to one of claims 1 to 5, being characterized in that the article (16) is yarn-like or strip-like,
that said article supply device (12) comprises: a base (48) movable beneath the needle beds (4); an elevation member (50) supported by the base (48) and rising and lowering; a clamp member (51) and a cutter (52) both supported by the elevation member (50), and
that a feeding device (15) of the article (16) to said clamp member (51) is further provided.

Drawing